Washington Township students celebrated Constitution Day on Monday, with a range of events to mark the 225th anniversary of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

At Whitman Elementary School, students in Rosie Rucker’s first-grade class got a hands-on look at how the Constitution is put to work, by Washington Township Municipal Court Judge Martin Whitcraft.

“We don’t make the laws, we determine if someone broke the law,” explained Whitcraft, who was decked out in his judge’s robes.

Whitcraft walked the students through just what it meant to break the law, get a ticket, appear in court or argue a case. He broke out his gavel to show them how he takes control of a courtroom — just like the referee at a soccer game, he said.

“It’s like blowing a whistle,” Whitcraft said. “I’m the referee of the trial.”

Whitcraft was joined by Litigator Dina Ronsayro, whose daughter, Sasha is in Rucker’s class.

Ronsayro had the students form their own jury, and taught them the roles of lawyers in a court room during a mini-mock trial. In her case — The Case of the Missing Soccer Ball — she told the students how attorneys, judges and juries protect the rights outlined in the Constitution.

“You have to make sure you tell the jury everything about why your case should win,” Ronsayro said.

Rucker said that while others may think the lesson is a bit above the first-graders’ heads, she said it’s important to start teaching the students about these issues at a young age.

“Children need to see what life is like at all levels ... Learning should start from ground up,” Rucker said. “They will never forget this because it’s a part of their learning experience.”

The message was clear to first-grader Sydney O’Shaugnessy, who happened to share her

“I learned that [Judge Whitcraft] has to solve the problems,” Sydney said. “He was very nice.”

At Birches Elementary, students took a field trip to the National Archives in Fort Worth, Texas — via the web. They took a virtual tour of the archives, before making patriotic bead bracelets and learning about the Preamble of the Constitution.

Over at Wedgwood Elementary School, first-graders used their lessons on the U.S. Constitution to build a constitution of their very own for their classroom. Articles include information on how to make rules, that the teacher is the chief executive and the instructional assistant is the vice president.

Third-graders in Heather Ale’s class at Thomas Jefferson Elementary school drew their very best bald eagles, constitution scrolls, American flags and more for posters commemorating the day. Ale will submit them as part of a special contest through www.constitutionfacts.com.